Two days ago, whilst driving along behind The Shaw in air-conditioned, slightly reclined comfort, we noticed the whole body listing to the right. It was particularly noticeable on left hand bends, and the thought of the rickshaw skipping, drifting or even rolling into oncoming traffic was just too hard to bear.
While we were checking out the erotic art at the Khajuraho Temples, we found a place to get the rickshaw checked over. The diagnosis - the chassis was cracked. Ouch!
It’s funny seeing something you’ve grown to love, pulled apart. Call me sentimental, but seeing the entire cab, from the wheel arches up, lifted off and placed to one side made me wince. For the first time since meeting our little orange friend, we’ve seen what lies inside. The Shaw lay there helplessly, guts and entrails exposed, hands poking around inside, just wanting to be fixed so it could continue north, the final 1000km to Nepal.
After four hours of welding, the cab was lifted back into place and The Shaw was back on the road, and driving like a dream.
We’ve started counting down the days now and making rough calculations on our schedule and arrival date. The intention has always been to arrive together in Pokhara with all the other rickshaws by the 26th. It’s five clear days to do about four days’ worth of driving.
So we’re ahead of schedule, but it’s hard to know how to use that day. The crew is getting tired now and a day off would certainly be welcome. Steve and Steve the cameramen are feeling it after running around in the heat picking up shots. Katie, Gordon and Shelley are exhausted from ten hour days at the handlebars. The bumpy roads of Madhya Pradesh and the late arrivals after dark every day are making things very difficult. Even the blogs are suffering… this one has taken days to finish.
The sensible option would be to hold onto our spare day as a wild card in the event of us experiencing any serious delays. But right now, all anyone can think of is a day spent in bed.
The ancient porn was brilliant, by the way. We all learned a few new tricks and Gordon discovered that there’s more to life than Missionary. Splendid.
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